Set Fire to the Rain
by ProtegoMaximaMyHeart
Summary: Harry sees Hermione sitting on a bench in the rain, so he decides to be the loyal best friend to listen to her problems.


Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling and I don't own the song either.

A/N: I was thinking of a slow song that these two could dance to that was more about being there for a friend than a romantic song. So I picked "Friends Will Be Friends" by Queen. If you want to listen to it while you're reading, have fun! :)

It was a particularly rough day during Potions class. Professor Slughorn challenged the class to prepare an Exploding Fluid. Harry would have excelled at this, unfortunately, not even the Half-Blood Prince had written anything in the margins.

_Probably too much for him,_ he thought with a chuckle.

Everyone scrambled out of the dungeons, eager to get away from the obnoxious fumes. However, the weather didn't share the same sentiment, as they were greeted with pouring down rain. They grumbled as they darted across the courtyard to get to the Great Hall. Harry was chatting with Seamus and Dean when a flash of brown hair caught his eye.

Hermione was sitting on the bench in the courtyard, her eyes low to the ground. He said parting words to them and walked over. He was surprised that she didn't give any greeting.

"Don't you want to go inside? You're going to get sick." He asked.

She was silent for a few moments. "You know what my mum said about rain?"

"What?"

"It's really good for hiding a good crying session." He jumped when she barked out a laugh.

He sat down on the bench next to her and waited. Over the years, he learned to be patient with her when it came to her feelings. While she was very caring, she was never one to form romantic connections. But he'd been noticing that her and Ron had been acting differently and chalked it up to having feelings other than friendship. He loved them both, but he sympathized with Hermione more because he knew that feeling when the one you loved was with someone else.

He felt her head thump on his shoulder and her arms snake around his. They were probably getting odd looks since they looked like they could be a couple, but he stopped caring a long time ago. Her shoulders started shaking...and then the sobbing came.

"It hurts so much, Harry."

Again, he was silent, knowing she was trying her best to articulate.

"Whenever I see him with Lavender, it feels like my stomach drops and my heart is about to give out. It KILLS me and there's nothing I can do about it. I...I know how I feel, but I don't know what to do. I know we're in the same situation...so..."

He knew what she was getting at. "I'm just keeping it all in, Hermione. I mean, what else can I do?"

"...Nothing."

They continued to sit in silence. Sighing, he stood up and offered her his hand. She looked at him, confused, but she took it anyway. He swung her arms around in a sad attempt at dancing. As it turned out, he wasn't as bad as he was during the Yule Ball. She felt silly dancing in the courtyard, but she always knew that she could count on him to make her smile.

He started singing a song to fill in the silence.

_Another red letter day, so the pound has dropped and the children are creating_

"Harry, what song is that?"

"It's a song from this muggle band called Queen."

_Friends will be friends, when you're in need of love they give you care and attention_

She smiled at that, because she knew it was true, especially coming from Harry.

After he finished, they stopped dancing and just stared at each other. They telepathically sent the message to each other that everything was going to be okay.

Ron walked by with Lavender attached to his arm as usual. He glanced over at Harry and Hermione in the courtyard and felt a surge of jealousy. He couldn't figure out why though. He shook his head, but he couldn't look away.

She gave him a long hug, smiling against his shoulder. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and Ron's jaw dropped. He stomped away, Lavender still in tow.

Harry smiled and gave her a kiss on her forehead. They were essentially siblings, so this was normal for them. They walked over the Great Hall, sopping wet but grinning, with their arms thrown around each others shoulders.

Even though they had a lot of friends, it was nice to know that they could confide with each other when it really mattered.


End file.
